Thrilling premise let down by ‘hokey denouement’
As opening gambits go, it’s one of 2018’s most exciting. Bird Box (now streaming on Netflix) begins with a direct address to camera by Sandra Bullock’s Malorie Hayes.
‘‘You have to do everything I say, or we will not make it. Do not take your blindfolds off and don’t talk. Instead, listen closely. If you look, you will die,’’ she intones.
Then the camera switches angles and we discover who she’s really talking to – two primary school-aged children, who she ‘‘affectionately’’ calls ‘‘boy’’ and ‘‘girl’’.
Flash back to five years earlier and we learn the cause of their now perilous plight. Starting in Romania, a series of unexplained mass suicides has the world spooked.
A virtual recluse anyway, Hayes is less concerned than most, although today is a day when she has to reluctantly venture out. That’s because she’s due for a pregnancy scan.
The father is long gone and Hayes is equally ambivalent towards the life-altering situation that is brewing within her own body, much to the chagrin of her doctor (ER’s Parminder Nagra). ‘‘What you can’t do is ignore it and hope it goes away,’’ she chides her seemingly flippant patient.
But before Hayes has time to dwell on that, the ‘‘virus’’ sweeps in, causing chaos and carnage all around her.
Her sister Jessica (Sarah Paulson) succumbs while driving, leaving Hayes injured and scrambling to find a safe haven. She does, but at the cost of others, which results in her being trapped with a small group, including Douglas (John Malkovich), who directly blames her for the death of his beloved wife.
Douglas is also convinced that North Korea or Iran are behind the global genocide and is desperate to shut himself off from everything until he can ‘‘make the end of the world great again’’.
When their supplies begin to run low though, it’s clear they’ll have to brave whatever’s out there to survive.
Based on Josh Malerman’s 2014 novel of the same name, Bird Box is a thrilling premise let down by a deep sense of deja vu and hokey denouement.
After the surprise success of John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place earlier this year, another postapocalyptic, sensory depravation thriller was always on the cards, but this is blighted by an unclear, unseen threat and an all-too-neat ending straight out of The Twilight Zone.
Having said that, there is much to admire about Danish director Susanne Bier (The Night Manager) and screenwriter Eric Heisserer’s (Arrival, Lights Out) tale.
As with her more serious dramas like After the Wedding
and Brothers, Bier again draws out terrific performances from her cast (which also includes Tom Hollander, Jacki Weaver, Danielle Macdonald and Rosa Salazar) and delivers a couple of astonishing set pieces (the brilliantly realised car crash is a particular highlight).
Likewise, Heisserer does a good job of establishing the threat, frightening the audience and making you care about the characters.
But between the fractured narrative (both the movie’s strength and weakness) and bits borrowed from 2008’s Blindness, 2011’s Contagion, 2009’s Zombieland and yes, M Night Shyamalan’s much-maligned The Happening, it becomes a little hard to stay with the drama.
In truth though, the latter comparison is somewhat harsh (despite a similar unseen menace). Bird Box has far more in common with the twistspecialist’s earlier film Signs.
This is another apocalyptic invasion story where our main hero is forced to rediscover their faith again. After such an amazing, awe-inspiring start, it’s disappointing this thriller couldn’t have thought a little more outside the box.